Refrigerator truck body



a 19, 1932. w, s EuBANK 1,841,367

REFRIGERATOR TRUCK BODY Filed Nov. 11, 1929 2' Sheets-Sheet 1 HGEI ' INVENTORI:

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Jan. 19, 1932. w. s. EUBANK REFRIGERATOR TRUCK BODY Filed Nov. 11, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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Patented Jan. 19, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WILLIAM S. EUBANK, OI PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNbR TO JAMES BELL, F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA REFRIGERATOR TRUCK BODY Application"filedli'ovember 11, 1929. Serial No. 406,189.

This invention relates to refrigerator truck bodies, and has special reference to a type designed more particularly for employment of carbon dioxide or the like as a refrigerant.

In the main, my invention is directed toward enabling use of a refrigerant of the specified kind effectively in the transportation of perishable food or other commodities from place to place, as well as toward provision of a refrigerator truck; body through which this desideratum is attalned with economic consumption of the refrigerant.

5 Solid carbon dioxide is a powerful and compact refrigerant requiring very httle space for its accommodation as compared with ordinary ice, while it sublimates without liquid residue. These characteristics render its employment in the indicated con-.

n-ection highly advantageous over ordinary ice, not only in that comparatively more space is available-for the roducts or articles which are to be preserv incident to transportation, but inth'at the sloppiness attendant upon the use of ordinary ice is altogether avoided.-

Other objects and inherent advantages of this invention will be manifest from-the detailed description following in coordination with the drawings, wherein Fig. I is a view partly in side elevation and partly in longitudinal section, of a refrigerator truck body conveniently embodying my improvements.

Fig. II is an elevation of the left hand end of the structure as considered in Fig. I.

F i'g. III is a fragmentary longitudinal section of the right hand end of the truck body, drawn to a larger scale than in Fig. I; and, I

Fig. IV is a detail section taken as indicated by the arrows IVIV in Fig. II.

As herein depicted, my improved refrigerator truck body is in the form of an elongated enclosure 5 supported by-a number of spaced transverse beams 6, which, in turn,

rest on a pair of longitudinals or sill rails 7. In the present instance, the enclosure 5 is subdivided internally to afford three compartments 8, 9,10 whereof the latter two are equal latches 13 after common practice in refri erator construction. When the truck bo y 5 is to be used in the transportation of food.

products such as ice cream, fruits, etc., packed in containers C as'herein exemplified, the chambers 9, 10 are provided with replaceablelattice flooring, as indicated at 14. The compartment 8 of the housing is intended to be used for the storage of returned empty containers C, and is accessible through an ordinary hingeddoor 15 opening into'the end of the body 5, as shown in Fig. II.

. From Fig. I it will be observed that the refrigerating chambers 9, 10 are eiiactly alike as regards their appointments. For the sake of brevity therefore, I will confine the immediate description to the chamber 10, employing however the same reference numerals to indicate corresponding parts in the chamber 9. To support a layer of broken solid carbon dioxide R, which is to be employed here as the refrigerant, above the containers C, the chamber 10 is provided with a horizontal tray 16 having an area substantially equal to that of said chamber. As shown to the best advantage in Fig. III, this tray consists of a rectangular frame 17 made from stout sheet metal, a reticulate bottom I 18' which may be either of perforated sheet metal or wire mesh so as to be .penetrable by free gas sublimated from the refrigerant R as presently explained. The tray 16 is floatingly sustained for movement up and down within the chamber 10 by means of chains 19 which are secured at one of their ends to the tray corners, as at 20, and which run over she'aves 21 at opposite ends of the chamber 10 near the top. As shown in Figs.

II and III, the sheaves 21 are secured in pairs to shafts 22 supported crosswise of the chamber 10 in bearing brackets 23 on the end walls. At their free ends, the chains 19 carry weights 24 which jointly counterbalance the Weight of the tray 16 free of load. Thus, when the tray 16 is charged with the refrigerant R, it responds to the influence of gravity in seeking a position of rest in contact with the containers C in the chamber 10, and moreover follows down as the layers of the containers are successively removed in making deliveries. In order to insure maintenance of the tray 1.6 always in true horizontal position incident/co vertical movement as just explained, the extent of rotation of the sheave shafts 22 is equalized through the medium of a longitudinal shaft 25 suspended from the roof of the chamber 10 in drop bearings 26, said shaft 25 being equipped, ,as shown in Figs. II and III, with miter gears 27 that mesh with companion miter gears 28 respectively on the sheave shafts 22. Provisions are moreover made for confining the tray 16 to true vertical movement, thereby to prevent it from swaying independently of the truck body 5, the means to this end including clevised lugs 29 on the tray corners which engage vertical guides 30 secured to opposite side walls of the chamber 10.

' By virtue of the described arrangement,

' the free gas sublimated from thesolid carbon dioXide, since it is heavier than air, naturally descends through the reticulate bottoms of the trays 16 within the chambers 9, 10,-thereby diifusin itself about the containers C. Upon with rawal of the top layers of the containers C, the trays 16 descend automatically until they rest in contactwith the next layer, and so on until the entire'contents of the chamber 9, 10 are removed. In this way the refrigerant R is kept in effective proximity tothe commodities in the containe -J ers C thereby maintaining them at a low"- temperature suitable for their preservation during transportation.

Obviously my improved refrigerator body 5 is adaptable with advantages corre'-' sponding to those hereinbefore pointed out, to the transportation of loose or unpacked articles, and is therefore not to be construed as necessarily limited to the specific manner of useherein described.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A refrigerator truck body affording a refrigerating chamber with surrounding walls of thermo-insulation; and a floatinglysustained automatically-descendable support for a layer of solid carbon dioxide above the articles undergoing preservation in the refrigerating chamber.

2. A refrigerator truck body afi'ording arefrigerating chamber with surrounding walls of merino-insulation; and a tray for supporting a layer of solid carbon dioxide above the articles undergoing preservation in the refrigerating chamber, said tray being floatingly sustained for capacity to always seek a position of rest on the top of the articles irrespective of the extent of loading of said chamber.

3. A refrigerator truck body affording a refrigerating chamber, with surrounding walls of thermo-insulation; and a horizontal tray for supporting a layer of solid carbon dioxide above the articles undergoing preservation in the refrigerating chamber, said tray being floatingly sustained and confined to vertical movement in the chamber for capacity to always seek a position of rest on top of the articles irrespective of the extent of loading of the chamber.

4:. A refrigerator truck body aflording a refrigerating chamber with surrounding walls of thermo-insulation; a tray for supporting a layer of solid carbon dioxide above the articles undergoing preservation in the refrigerating chamber, said tray being floatingly sustained for capacity to always seek a position of rest on the top of the articles irrespective of the extent of loading of said chamber; and means for maintaining the tray in true horizontal position incident to movement as'aforesaid.

5. A-refrigerator truck body affording a refrigerating chamber with surrounding walls of thermo insulation; and a horizontal trayfor supporting a layer of solid carbon dioxide above the articles undergoing preservation in the chamber, said tray being floatingly sustained by counterweighted chains running over sheaves at the top of the chamber on top of the articles irrespective of the extent of loading of the cham er. f 6. A refrigerator truck body affording a refrigerating chamber; with surrounding walls of thermo-insulation; a horizontal tray r-supporting a layer of solid carbon dioxide above the articles undergoing preservation in the chamber, said tray being iioatingly sustained by counter weighted chains running over sheaves at the top of the chamber for capacity to always seek a position of rest on the top of the articles irrespective of the extent of loading of the chamber; and means 7 whereby the movement of the sheaves is equalized .to insure maintenance of the tray in true horizontal position incident to movement as aforesaid.

7. A refrigerator truck body subdivided internally to afford a series of refrigerating chambers accessible through individual doors in the side of the body to enable introduction and removal of commodities in containers, and a non-refrigerating storage chamber for empty containers accessible through a door at one end of the body, said refrigerating chambers having heavy insulate walls and being equipped in each instance with a'floating'lymaintained automatically-descendable su port for a layer of solid carbon dioxi above the containers in them.

8. A refrigerator truck body subdivided internally to afford a series of refrigerating chambers accessible through individual doors in the side of the body to enable introduction and removal of commodities in containers, and a non-refrigerating storage chamber for empty containers accessible through a door at one end of the body, said refrigerating chambers having heavy insulate walls and being equipped in each instance with 'a tray for solid carbon dioxide floatingly sustained so as to be capable always of seeking a position of rest on the top of the containers irre ective of the extent of loadin of the cham r.

In testimony whereof,

vania, this 7thday of November 1929.

WILLIAM s. EiIBANK.

.have hereunto v signed my name at Philadelphia, Pennsyl- 

